Pennsylvania Council of Churches Statement on Escalating Violence in Israel/Palestine (October 10, 2023) “In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it… He shall judge between the nations and shall arbitrate…
Download pdf version The murder of Tyre Nichols by five Memphis police officers while being beaten 80 yards from his home is an affront to the entire human family. Not only were Tyre’s human rights violated, so was his humanity. Michelangelo’s masterpiece, “The Creation,” etched upon the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, depicts God touching…
Once more a racially motivated young man has authored a manifesto and killed ten people and wounded others at a Tops Grocery Store in Buffalo. To quote the NY Post, “A “heavily armed” white teenager clad in military-style tactical gear slaughtered ten people Saturday in a “racially motivated” mass shooting he live-streamed at a Buffalo…
How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? —Psalm 137:4 (NRSV) The Pennsylvania Council of Churches remains in prayer for the people of Minneapolis, Brooklyn Center and the nation following the Derek Chauvin murder conviction for the death of George Floyd, and the death of Daunte Wright at the hands of police. We…
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. —John 13:34 (NRSV) In June 2020 we issued “A Pastoral Call to Dismantle Racism & End Violence Against People of Color.” This statement: recognized the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on…
For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. –Jeremiah 29:11 (NRSV) While Americans have always had their differences based on political preferences and how we work to progress the ideal of “liberty and…
By: Sandy Strauss The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.—Leviticus 19:34 In a 5-4 ruling on Thursday, June 18, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision that the Trump Administration…
I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.—Acts 10:34 (NRSV) I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.—John 13:34 (NRSV) The COVID-19…
And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you.—1 Peter 5:10 (NRSV) We are living in times that test our spirits, patience, and energy. Nothing in ministerial training has prepared leaders for…
